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• Intellectual property rights in brief

Corporate Responsibility Report 2008

Intellectual property rights in brief

Patents

A patent gives the inventor of a new product the exclusive rights to manufacture, use, sell or import that product or the process used to make it. These rights are granted for a set period, generally 20 years. The term of the patent runs during the lengthy research and development (R&D) period, and often only five to eight years of the patent remains once a product is marketed. Some countries have extended the patent term to compensate for the long R&D process.

Patents are granted on the condition that the inventor publishes a full description of the invention, which would allow someone else to manufacture the product. This helps to build scientific understanding and encourage further research and innovation.

Trademarks

A trademark is a brand name, word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination of these, that identifies and distinguishes a product or company. The owner of a trademark can prevent its use by a third party.

Trademarks enable our customers to tell our products from those of our competitors and provide reassurance of quality and the origin of the product. They are therefore a vital part of our marketing.

Data exclusivity

Before we can sell a new product we must prove that it is effective and safe to use. All our products are rigorously tested through clinical trials and other medical research. The results of this research are submitted to governments on a confidential basis.

Data exclusivity means that governments cannot use or disclose these data for a fixed period. This ensures that other companies cannot benefit from our research for free - for example to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of generic copies of our products.

In the interest of facilitating timely market access and the need to avoid repetitive animal testing and human clinical trials, competitors may refer to our data after expiration of the period of exclusivity.